Thursday, January 17, 2013

Explosive...

Picture it...my mothers kitchen 1990 something. The walls of my parents galley kitchen were painted this horrible bright lemon yellow. Mom loved it, I guess she was going through a phase. It was raining outside, storming to beat the band. My mom asked me to go make a pot of tea and my daddy was in the kitchen making zucchini bread... from scratch with the zucchini fresh from his garden. He had just finished shredding the zucchini and walked around with his chest puffed out, proud as a peacock getting in touch with his inner Betty Crocker. I went into the kitchen to start the tea, turning on the stove burner (paying no mind to the glass casserole baking dish sitting on top of the stove) I always used when I made tea. I went to the sink and filled the pot with water. My parents had been watching Die Hard 2 on VHS...are you feeling old now? There I am in the kitchen looking out the window waiting on the pot to fill when... thunder crashes, lighting strikes, Bruce blows up the plane and that glass casserole dish explodes all simultaneously. Shards of glass rained down like pieces of crystal snow into my Dad's grated zucchini. The proud peacock scooped me up out of the kitchen (my daddy was not a very big man but he was strong as an ox) and carried me over the tile and got me onto the carpet in the dining room. Mom jumped up and I scurried to the bathroom, (white as a ghost and tears streaming down my face). Mom came in checking to make sure I wasn't cut. I did have a piece of glass in my foot but I was really no worse for wear. I shaved about 5 years off everyones life, nobody can ever watch Die Hard in our family without thinking of that story (laughing at my expense)and my Dad never attempted to make zucchini bread again while I lived under their roof. In fact I remember one time well after I got married when I called my parents and my dad says "Hey kid, you coming out today?" I replied "No, Dad not today why?" He said "Because I'm makin' zucchini bread." He laughed and laughed. True story folks, I can't make this stuff up.

Last week I was whipping up chicken salsa. I preheated the oven, laid my boneless skinless chicken breast in a glass casserole dish, poured my organic salsa over it and put it in the oven and set the timer for 25 minutes. I went into my bedroom and five minutes later I heard this ungodly explosion. I ran to the kitchen, opened the oven door and 2 pieces of glass flew out and one of them hit me...bullseye, right in the leg. I didn't get cut, I was just ticked. I really wanted that chicken! I called Mark and because he knows the zucchini story, first like a good husband he asked if I was okay, when I assured him I was... Mark started laughing...not haha but belly laughing, hard! You know, laughing so hard you are grasping for breath laughing? Needless to say we had pizza that night for dinner. As for my explosive knack with glass casserole dishes...well in the words of John McClaine "Yippy ki ay" :)

Don't feed the monster...

We have a saying in our house that I borrowed from a friend...Don't feed the monster. Charli had a meltdown at the dentist yesterday, clamped her mouth shut and flat out REFUSED to let the hygenist finish cleaning her teeth. This has never happened before. The hygenist had to come and get me. I walk into the room and there is my daughter watching TV, mouth tightly shut, and her eyes red from crying.

Let me stop a moment to give a little back story: The day was hectic. I had to leave work, pick her up from school and have her to the orthodontist by 2:10 to get her wire for her braces removed before taking her to the dentist. The dentist office is 35 minutes from her orthodontist office. Then after the dentist I had to get her back to the orthodontist to have the wire put back in as her orthodontist's office wouldn't be open again until Tuesday. I also needed to pick up hog feed, run and buy dog food and swing back by work to drop it off as I knew there was a possiblilty I would be off to enjoy an extended weekend while there is no school between teacher work days and the MLK holiday. The point is we were in a major time crunch.

I stood over Charli while she was reclined in the seat and made up my mind that I wasn't going to feed the monster. I looked down at her and told her that she needed to open her mouth and finish her cleaning...period. Do you know what my precious daughter did? She stuck her tongue out at me in front of her dentist and hygenist!!! (I am sure your perfect children would never do such a thing but my kid missed the memo regarding sticking her tongue out at her mother). I was stunned but I recovered quickly, tied my supermom cape a little tighter and I asked her if she wanted me to pop that tongue back in her mouth. I then said " Do not think just because we are in public that I won't escort you into the bathroom young lady! Open your mouth NOW and let her finish so we can go!" There was no coaxing, bribing or anything of the kind. She opened her mouth (granted not happily) and we were out of there 10 mintutes later. I did find out from her dentist that she had 2 tiny cavaties! Blah (Oral-B super brusher? Nope...guess not)

I decided since I moved her dentist appointment up and it was currently 3:33, I was going to press my luck and drive to get the hog feed (which is located halfway to B.F.E.), prior to heading back to the orthodontist. I also had to stop for gas because I was running on fumes. I made it to the ortho at 4:41. We were out of there at 4:55. I stopped to pick up the dog food, called the bosses' gave them the run down, and went back to work to drop off the feed and dog food. I unloaded 200 lbs of hog feed (50 lb bags...yep little heavy) and put away the dog food. Charli and I left rejoicing in the fact that I would have a long weekend off work while she was out of school.

Don't feed the monster simply means, I am not going to fuel the bad behavior. I am also not going to bargin or bribe a 10 year old. Ode to joy...now to schedule her filling appointment. I am pretty sure Mark will be off that day :D












Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Love and Marriage

I remember watching them as a little girl. How my grandpa's eyes would twinkle, and how my grandma would randomly curl up in his lap. They had quite the love story, my grandparents. They were survivors. My grandparents loved each other through the birth of five children (and the death of one),through sickness, in good times and difficult times. They prayed for each other, and kissed goodnight. My grandparents were my hope that one day I would grow up and have somebody to love me and that I would have somebody to love, like those two loved each other. My grandparents would have been married 64 years yesterday but my grandpa passed three weeks before their 47th wedding anniversary. I was 18 years old when he died. I had no idea how much I would come to appreciate him and my grandma in the years that have followed. Growing up, times were hard but grandma and grandpa were a constant example of love and unwavering faith.
It is hard to believe that Mark and I will be married for 15 years on 02/07/2013. I am blessed beyond measure and so grateful that God brought such an amazing man into my life. He has loved me through the good, bad and the ugly. He has loved me through our fertility struggles, the death of my dad, and all the craziness that I get myself caught up in. Mark has encouraged me, prayed over me, and believed in me, when I haven't had much faith in myself. He is my loudest cheerleader, my biggest fan. He sees me at my worst and tells me I am beautiful. We can find each other across a crowded room and have a conversation without words. Mark is my happily ever after. I am thankful to God for the good times, the tough times and all the times in between. It is all those moments that make up a lifetime...of loving each other.